2024 Influencers in Retail

Pacific Retail Capital Partners Pacific Retail Capital Partners’ mission is to transform conventional malls into vibrant mixed-use destinations by leveraging its vertically integrated capabilities and capital markets expertise to elevate assets by…

Outside the Lines Inc. Outside the Lines Inc. is a design-build construction company that creates water features, rockwork and themed environments that support retail businesses through entertainment and increased traffic…

Nadel Architecture + Planning Architectural firm Nadel Architecture + Planning designs retail centers that give consumers a reason to go out, socialize and shop, a particularly important mission as in-store foot traffic has shifted amid the…

N3 Real Estate Founded nearly two decades ago, N3 Real Estate is led by CEO Brenna Wadleigh and includes senior real estate professionals with backgrounds in retail real estate site selection, finance, entitlements…

Hanley Investment Group Real Estate Advisors Hanley Investment Group is one of the most active brokerage companies in a variety of single-tenant retail investment categories, including convenience stores, car…

First National Realty Partners In just eight years since it was founded in 2015, First National Realty Partners has amassed a nationwide portfolio of high-performing CRE assets. Led by executive chairman Jared Feldman, the firm…

Armada Hoffler Armada Hoffler, led by CEO Louis Haddad, is a publicly traded CRE owner, manager, developer, builder and investor that has been in business for more than four decades. It builds transformative mixed-use…

Agora Realty & Management Inc. Agora Realty & Management Inc. believes retail development does its best when it adds to the community. Founded in 1986, the firm led by CEO Cary Lefton is a significant developer in North Las Vegas, recently…

Organizations

SRS Capital Markets Founded in 2016, SRS Real Estate Partners’ capital markets group is recognized as one of the top net lease investment teams in the nation. The team provides advisory services for investors of single-tenant and net…

Kennedy Wilson Brokerage’s Lee Shapiro & Jaysen Chiaramonte Lee Shapiro, a 35-year CRE veteran, and Jaysen Chiaramonte, a rising star in retail brokerage, have partnered to specialize in the leasing and sale of retail property…

JLL Retail Capital Markets Senior managing directors Danny Finkle, Chris Angelone and Barry Brown bring more than 70 years of combined retail real estate experience to the JLL retail capital markets team. They specialize in traditional…

Patton Wiles Fuller of Marcus & Millichap Erin Patton, Scott Wiles and Craig Fuller are senior managing directors within Marcus & Millichap’s Institutional Property Advisors and retail divisions and rank among the…

Horvath & Tremblay Bob Horvath and Todd Tremblay have built their brokerage firm around a collaborative environment that promotes unified client development, eliminates many of the internal friction points agents experience at…

Foundry Commercial Raleigh Retail Team The Foundry Commercial Raleigh Retail team recognizes that uncertainty is something that can’t be avoided, so they have chosen to approach recent challenges collectively…

Cushman & Wakefield’s Marks/Halkias Team Cushman & Wakefield executive directors Michael Marks and Evan Halkias serve retail investors throughout the Midwest with a focus on Chicago, Indianapolis…

Cox, Castle & Nicholson Retail & Commercial Development Team The Retail & Commercial Development team of Cox, Castle & Nicholson is one of the largest concentrations of retail attorneys in California with eight attorneys devoted…

Colliers’ Warner Retail Team Despite increasing interest rates and market skepticism, the Warner retail team has maintained a positive perspective and remained the top-producing investment sales team at Colliers. The team was founded…

Colliers’ Kovacs Retail Team Senior broker Jim Kovacs leads a cohesive and innovative retail team in Florida for Colliers that specializes in retail tenant representation, emphasizing creating unique off-market opportunities and influencing…

CBRE Southern California Retail Teams First VP Zachary Card and senior associate Erik Krasney specialize in retail and mixed-use properties for CBRE’s Southern California region. Their expertise…

Adler & Stachenfeld LLP Leasing Practice Group With experience working on transactions for landlords and tenants, Adler & Stachenfeld LLP partners Risa Letowsky and Eric Menkes identify leasing solutions that benefit…

TEAMS

Molly Morgan During the pandemic when people began to spend more time outside, Molly Morgan keyed in on an…

Zack McNamara Zack McNamara is an expert on Orlando’s retail scene with an eye for spotting untapped potential. He…

Don McMinn Don McMinn is a founding member and principal of the Taylor McMinn retail group of Marcus & Millichap…

Tom McGee As president and CEO of ICSC, Tom McGee has spent nearly a decade driving innovation, growth and resilience…

Alanna J. Loeffler Alanna Loeffler began her industry career in 2006 and joined Cushman & Wakefield in 2012 to provide…

Richard Lake Richard Lake is selective about which projects his firm pursues – they must be transformative in both their programming…

Steven Kirkham Steven Kirkham is a partner at Holland & Knight LLP and co-leads the firm’s retail and leasing team. He…

Daniel Herrold Northmarq SVP Daniel Herrold is a 20-year veteran of the industry and has completed more than $3 billion in …

Matthew K. Harding Levin Management Corp. CEO Matthew Harding is a champion of the brick-and-mortar environment and a thought leader…

Vicky Hammond Vicky Hammond has served in a variety of operational roles at Coreland Cos., a Southern California…

David Greensfelder After spending the first two decades of his career in retail development and corporate real estate for some of the…

Jared Epstein Aurora Capital Associates principal and president Jared Epstein has influenced the transformation of…

Barry G. Edwards With nearly four decades of experience, Barry Edwards’ work on behalf of landlords has helped shape the brick-and-…

Emily Durham With extensive experience in retail real estate, Emily Durham brings a specialized understanding of the…

Jason DuFault During the past decade, Jason DuFault has leased more than 450,000 square feet of retail space and…

Jim Dillavou Jim Dillavou holds 22 years of experience in the real estate industry with a background in capital markets and…

John M. Crossman CrossMarc Services LLC founder and CEO John Crossman has more than three decades of experience in real…

Dena Cohen Dena Cohen is adept at bringing parties from opposite sides to the table together, helping them forge…

Christina Coffey With 22 years of experience on both the landlord and tenant side of the business, Lee & Associates VP…

Spencer Bomar With nearly three decades of experience, Colliers EVP of retail Spencer Bomar is one of the Southeast…

Stephen Bittel Under the leadership of Terranova Corp. founder and chairman Stephen Bittel, Lincoln Road in Miami Beach and…

Justin S. Barry Justin Barry has played an instrumental role in consolidating the once-fragmented car wash industry by helping…

Emily Albright Miller Knowing that great strategy starts with understanding the wants, needs and desires…

INDIVIDUALS

Pacific Retail Capital Partners’ mission is to transform conventional malls into vibrant mixed-use destinations by leveraging its vertically integrated capabilities and capital markets expertise to elevate assets by unencumbering them and turning them into high-performing town squares. Founded in 2008, the firm is led by CEO Steve Plenge and has more than $3 billion in assets under management across the country. PRCP’s portfolio totals more than 24 million square feet, with an additional 17 million square feet of asset management, advisory and master planning services. The firm currently is leading one of the country’s biggest mall redevelopment projects. The District Galleria in White Plains, NY will span multiple city blocks and consist of 50% open space and seven residential towers of varied heights with up to 3,200 apartments – of which 12% will be affordable – and a quarter-mile-long green promenade with pet playgrounds, pocket parks, and landscaping for community gatherings, outdoor events, public entertainment, and art. At Yorktown Center in Chicago, PRCP has secured all necessary approvals to move forward with its master plan to unencumber the existing Carson’s box and deliver more than 600 residential units and a 1-acre park. Both of these projects are examples of PRCP’s architectural design studio’s master planning abilities – a core differentiator for the company, which is one of the only vertically integrated real estate firms with an in-house design studio. Its strategic vision has earned the firm accolades and provided a proof point for others in the industry to follow. To that end, PRCP shares its strategies and insights with industry peers and leaders and works collaboratively with city and government officials. It also strives to empower its employees by providing them with the opportunity to learn from industry leaders, participate in mentorship programs and advance into management roles.

Pacific Retail Capital Partners

Outside the Lines Inc. is a design-build construction company that creates water features, rockwork and themed environments that support retail businesses through entertainment and increased traffic. Understanding that providing immersive experiences that people cannot get from behind a screen at home is essential to today’s retail centers, OTL recently developed and patented Aquarius Interactive, an artificial intelligence system that allows visitors to control a display’s water, lights and other effects through movement. At EpicCentral, the Aquarius Interactive technology was unveiled with the debut of the Illuvia superfountain, which was built in a lake. Featuring multidirectional water nozzles and air shooters, as well as images and video projected onto the water, Illuvia puts on a nightly show that regularly draws up to 30,000 people per week. Guests come to check out the free show and then visit and support local businesses. Restaurants in the immediate area reported full bookings around the opening of Illuvia, and the community comes out for special events, festivals and performances centered around the fountain. OTL has had similar success with innovative water features at other locations across the country. At The Veranda, a lifestyle destination in Concord, CA, OTL worked with owners CenterCal Properties to create coordinated musical performances synched to its fountain, creating a fun place for the community to gather and enjoy free entertainment. The firm also provides maintenance services for the projects it creates as well as those crafted by others. The OTL team’s work has been installed in both indoor and outdoor venues throughout the world. Founded in 2007, OTL is led by CEO J. Wickham Zimmerman.

Outside the Lines Inc.

Architectural firm Nadel Architecture + Planning designs retail centers that give consumers a reason to go out, socialize and shop, a particularly important mission as in-store foot traffic has shifted amid the rise of e-commerce. The firm, founded in 1973 and led by chairman and principal Greg Lyon, offers design and planning services to developers and owners of mixed-use, retail, multifamily, urban infill, hospitality, office, industrial, medical, civic, educational and municipal properties, as well as sports complexes and master-planned communities. Nadel’s community-driven retail designs feature children’s play areas, comfortable shaded lounges and space for community events such as farmers’ markets, cultural celebrations and concerts. A recent focus is adding community-centric features without disrupting existing business at shopping centers. For example, the firm repositioned the 220,000-square-foot Universal Shopping Plaza in San Gabriel, CA with a physical facelift, newly landscaped exterior areas with comfortable seating, and lighting for nighttime use. The company has completed more than 500 projects totaling more than $700 million and more than 10 million square feet of retail architecture. One retail project it is particularly proud of is the expansion of the Showcase Mall on the Las Vegas Strip, including a Paradox Museum, which offers visitors a peek at some of the city’s most iconic themes, such as an Elvis wedding chapel, dancing pole, poker table and slot machines. Nadel has been honored with a long list of design, architectural, beautification, preservation and excellence awards throughout its 50-year history and continues to earn industry and community distinctions today.

Nadel Architecture + Planning

Founded nearly two decades ago, N3 Real Estate is led by CEO Brenna Wadleigh and includes senior real estate professionals with backgrounds in retail real estate site selection, finance, entitlements, construction and project management. The firm advises retail brands looking to expand their store base across the US by defining market strategy, understanding their economics, finding sites, managing the development and construction process and turning over completed locations. During the past 2.5 years, N3 Real Estate has delivered 45 new freestanding locations across the country to Strickland Brothers’ 10-Minute Oil Change, persevering through headwinds that included supply chain disruptions, labor shortages, municipal delays, high construction costs and a poor lending market. N3 is proud of the creative solutions it implemented during COVID-19 disruptions to overcome obstacles impacting the construction industry and capital markets challenges on behalf of clients. In addition to her role leading N3 Real Estate, Wadleigh serves on four nonprofit boards and is the 2024 chair of the CREW in the Community board. She has served the organization alongside its affiliate, CREW Dallas, for several years. CREW in the Community provides career programs and scholarships to provide young women with opportunities in commercial real estate careers.

N3 Real Estate

Hanley Investment Group is one of the most active brokerage companies in a variety of single-tenant retail investment categories, including convenience stores, car washes, auto-related services, childcare/learning centers and drive-thru fast food and coffee. It has closed 600 retail property sale transactions valued at $3 billion during the past three years. Despite the pandemic and a challenging interest rate environment, many of these retail investment transactions have set nationwide records for multitenant price per-square-foot and lowest cap rates for tenants in the country. The firm is led by president Ed Hanley and includes a retail team headed by EVPs Jeff Lefko and Bill Asher. The company has built a specialty in bringing California-based private capital to out-of-state markets. Last year, the firm worked in 28 states, closing 150 transactions valued at $746 million in retail sales. In addition, Hanley Investment Group has been a market leader in achieving improved property values in the execution of break-up sale strategies, wherein a client purchases or develops/redevelops an entire shopping center and then sells individual components to private investors seeking passive investments. The Hanley team spends countless hours working closely with clients to assess and accurately underwrite assets, projecting realistic exit assumptions for each of the center’s components. This sale strategy capitalizes on the demand for retail net-leased investments priced under $10 million, whether stabilized or value-added. One of Hanley Investment Group’s most significant accomplishments has been the development of meaningful, long-term relationships that extend beyond singular transactions. Every November, the men at Hanley Investment Group grow mustaches for the month to raise awareness and funds for the prevention of prostate and testicular cancers, mental health and suicide prevention. Since 2011, the company has raised more than $368,000 for Movember, consistently placing the firm in the top 1% among thousands of teams throughout the US.

Hanley Investment Group Real Estate Advisors

In just eight years since it was founded in 2015, First National Realty Partners has amassed a nationwide portfolio of high-performing CRE assets. Led by executive chairman Jared Feldman, the firm specializes in grocery-anchored, necessity-based retail properties and embraces a willingness to play offense when others in the industry sit on the sidelines. FNRP has more than $2 billion in assets under management, including 60 assets in 24 states. Since it was founded, it has acquired more than 12 million square feet of leasable space and generated more than $100 million in investor distributions for a pool of more than 2,600 investors. FNRP’s growth has been driven by a user-friendly platform for accredited investors to research the firm’s pipeline of retail investment offerings and a proactive communications and investor relations strategy focused on keeping investors informed. FNRP also helps investors creatively use tax-friendly vehicles, including 1031 Exchanges and self-directed IRAs, to execute retail property investments. Last year, the firm closed about $200 million in acquisitions, acquiring seven new properties totaling more than 785,000 square feet of retail space. Its $37.87 million off-market acquisition of a 227,618-square-foot grocery-anchored portfolio in the Atlanta MSA was a particularly notable 2023 transaction, as the FNRP team tapped into its creativity, relationships and market knowledge to overcome broader challenges and add two best-in-class retail properties to the firm’s national portfolio. This was one of the year’s marquee commercial real estate transactions, anchored by the top two grocers in Atlanta in Publix and Kroger. Another big 2023 accomplishment was the execution of a 41,455-square-foot lease that brought Houston its first Lowe’s Outlet and revitalized the Champions Village shopping center.

First National Realty Partners

Armada Hoffler, led by CEO Louis Haddad, is a publicly traded CRE owner, manager, developer, builder and investor that has been in business for more than four decades. It builds transformative mixed-use developments in emerging markets that help retailers address challenges ranging from the pandemic to the rise of e-commerce and most recently increased interest rates. It boasts a 98% retail occupancy rate across its portfolio of 20 properties spanning 1.9 million square feet in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic regions. It has more than 275 retail tenants ranging from mom-and-pop businesses to national credit retailers. It also has several large-scale mixed-use developments with retail components, including Southern Post in Roswell, GA, and Harbor Point in Baltimore. The firm attributes its success to a flexible and holistic approach to retail leasing that includes carefully evaluating each potential deal to determine how it can accommodate the tenant while ensuring strong rental rates. Notable recent retail-related accomplishments include bringing the first LEGO Store to its home base of Virginia Beach. The 3,170-square-foot store opened at Armada Hoffler’s Town Center of Virginia Beach in October 2023. The company also completed a lease with The Porchetta Group, led by chef Pat Pascarella, to open a new location for the group’s Grana concept at Armada Hoffler’s Southern Post mixed-use development in Roswell. Last year, it signed mail-order retailer Orvis Company Inc. as a tenant at the Marketplace at Hilltop in Virginia Beach, marking its debut in the Hampton Roads area. It achieved milestone occupancies despite the pandemic through direct and consistent communication with all retail tenants and crafting customized plans for each. Armada Hoffler’s commitment to the community includes an outreach committee that organizes events that employees can participate in and earn extra paid time off. Employees logged more than 500 volunteer hours last year.

Armada Hoffler

Agora Realty & Management Inc. believes retail development does its best when it adds to the community. Founded in 1986, the firm led by CEO Cary Lefton is a significant developer in North Las Vegas, recently closing escrow on a 73-acre ground-up mixed-use development and sports village called Hylo Park, the firm’s second major project in the area. The community-driven concept for the project includes housing options, grocery-anchored retail, restaurants and commercial services. The planned development also incorporates a sports village and public plaza to support youth and amateur athletes and semi-professional teams. The sports-anchored center partnered with the Vegas Golden Knights professional hockey club to boost youth hockey programming and community opportunities. Agora has invested in North Las Vegas for many years, beginning with the redevelopment of Fiesta Plaza, a 200,000-square-foot grocery-anchored shopping center located on 23 acres in the city’s downtown area. Agora Realty acquired Fiesta Plaza in mid-2016 with only 55% of the available retail space occupied and no anchor stores. Since that time, the firm has fully leased the center. The company also has a presence in California, notably with its work on Plaza del Valle in Panorama City. The retail destination includes micro food stalls, retail shops, healthcare facilities, indoor and outdoor event space, and an ice rink. The project is 100% occupied with a waiting list and draws more than 2.2 million visitors annually. Agora’s portfolio has grown to include properties in Washington, Colorado and Hawaii. It prides itself on offering the nimble hands-on service and agility of a boutique firm backed by the depth of resources and experience of an institutional organization. Agora’s portfolio now encompasses more than two million square feet of retail space in the Western US, including 600,000 square feet in Nevada.

Agora Realty & Management Inc.

Founded in 2016, SRS Real Estate Partners’ capital markets group is recognized as one of the top net lease investment teams in the nation. The team provides advisory services for investors of single-tenant and net lease retail properties across the US and boasts a multi-billion-dollar track record that spans 49 states. Its platform consists of 90 net lease professionals nationwide with all underwriting and marketing efforts located in Southern California. As the exclusive net lease capital markets team at SRS Real Estate Partners, the capital markets team leverages the insight of 300 retail professionals who represent more than 1,200 clients and more than 50 million square feet of retail and commercial space across North America. SRS Capital Markets is led by some of the industry’s most active and influential investment sales professionals. Managing principals and co-founders Matthew Mousavi and Patrick Luther lead the centralized net lease platform from its Newport Beach office and EVP Patrick Nutt contributes leadership to the platform from the South Florida office. At the close of 2023, SRS Capital had $2.2 billion in transactions with more than 500 properties sold in more than 30 states. It attributes its success during recent market challenges to the determination and dedication of its brokers, the firm’s national reach and presence, and its collaborative culture. SRS’s internal deal match platform performance was critical to the team’s success in 2023, matching buyer and seller requirements nationally, often off-market, to achieve the goals and objectives of clients quickly and efficiently. Another influential factor in the team’s success is that the team works closely with SRS’s retail tenant representation and retail project leasing teams throughout the country, as well as its in-house debt and financing advisors.

SRS Capital Markets

Lee Shapiro, a 35-year CRE veteran, and Jaysen Chiaramonte, a rising star in retail brokerage, have partnered to specialize in the leasing and sale of retail property throughout Los Angeles at Kennedy Wilson Brokerage. The pair, which began working together in 2021, are the exclusive agents for 2.6 million square feet of commercial space across Southern California, including high-profile assignments at The Desmond, Rae on Sunset, Eastown, Shoreline Gateway and the historic former Howard Hughes headquarters. The team has had a particular impact on the Hollywood submarket of Los Angeles recently, where both new development and historic buildings share space on the same blocks. Shapiro and Chiaramonte’s work in Hollywood reflects their understanding of changing demographics and what will drive value for their clients. As experts in leasing ground-floor retail in new mixed-use developments, the pair has educated prospective investors and tenants on the changing demand drivers and demographics in L.A.’s distinctive submarkets, while communicating developers’ visions for the future to prospective tenants. They have spent thousands of hours on L.A. streets, conducting tours of development sites that were former parking lots or literal holes in the ground, painting a picture of what that city block would look like in a year or two. Recent notable deals in the submarket include a 23,000-square-foot lease to gourmet grocer Bristol Farms at Mill Creek Residential’s new Modera Argyle development, 12,000 square feet to RDEN Bar & Restaurant at the historic Taft Building at Hollywood and Vine, and 4,700 square feet to popular household goods retailer Miniso at Eastown. As an industry veteran with decades of experience, Shapiro devotes considerable time to mentorship and training young agents. Each year, he oversees the brokerage division’s summer internship program for college students.

Kennedy Wilson Brokerage’s Lee Shapiro & Jaysen Chiaramonte

Senior managing directors Danny Finkle, Chris Angelone and Barry Brown bring more than 70 years of combined retail real estate experience to the JLL retail capital markets team. They specialize in traditional outright sales; large-scale portfolio sales and recapitalizations; equity placement, including fundraising, joint-ventures and structured finance alternatives; and construction, interim and permanent debt solutions. They also serve as advisors to real estate companies for strategic transactions, including mergers and acquisitions; sales and divestitures; privatizations and management buyouts; recapitalizations and restructurings. During the past three years, the team has been responsible for $9.6 billion in total deal value across 215 transactions. The team’s in-depth industry experiences enable them to provide valuable insights to clients, and all three team members have developed an extensive network, including investors, developers, landlords and tenants, allowing them to stay connected, collaborate on projects, exchange ideas and amplify their influence. Team members have established themselves as thought leaders by consistently sharing their insights through various channels beyond client meetings, such as speaking engagements, conferences and written articles. They are willing to provide their perspectives on critical issues, challenge conventional thinking and create industry dialogue. The team sponsors numerous community events, supports local nonprofits, and collaborates on initiatives that enhance the overall well-being of the community. Their greatest strength is in actively participating in educational programs, mentorship initiatives and industry associations. By sharing knowledge and experiences, they help train the next generation of professionals and contribute to the overall growth and development of the industry.

JLL Retail Capital Markets

Erin Patton, Scott Wiles and Craig Fuller are senior managing directors within Marcus & Millichap’s Institutional Property Advisors and retail divisions and rank among the top institutional and multitenant retail sales teams in the country. Throughout the past two decades, the team has closed more than $3.9 billion in retail property sales covering 42 million square feet in 34 states. The Patton Wiles Fuller team remained focused on best-in-class service for clients through the 2020 cycle and the 2023 market disruption with their strong work ethic and ability to innovate and adapt to change with a willingness to continue investing in the future. The 15-person team focuses exclusively on retail investment sales, including both single-tenant and multitenant properties throughout the country with a special focus on Midwest markets. Patton, Wiles and Fuller mentor and guide younger agents within the firm, many of whom have gone on to senior roles. Together they have assisted with training and mentoring more than a dozen junior agents throughout their tenure at Marcus & Millichap. Patton has been with the firm for 19 years and Wiles and Fuller have both spent their entire career with the company – 16 years and 12 years respectively. In 2023, the team brokered 40 retail transactions totaling more than $228 million in sales. Their specialized approach to the business has enabled them to achieve tremendous results for clients, establishing a stellar reputation and an excellent ratio of return clients who continue to rely on them for all their investment property needs. Patton, Wiles and Fuller are involved locally with ICSC and have helped chair various events for the organization as well as speaking at industry events to share their market knowledge.

Patton Wiles Fuller of Marcus & Millichap

Bob Horvath and Todd Tremblay have built their brokerage firm around a collaborative environment that promotes unified client development, eliminates many of the internal friction points agents experience at other firms and allows them to work together instead of against each other. Agents are supported by a centralized professional services team that provides a consistent product, process and messaging along with uniform branding. Horvath and Tremblay also built their team with a focus on specialization, allowing agents to become dedicated experts in the area they work. Buyside specialists help clients place capital while listing agents focus their efforts on generating and selling listings. While remaining laser-focused on growing Horvath & Tremblay as a firm, they are highly active and successful brokers. They specialize in facilitating the acquisition and disposition of single-tenant net leased and multitenant retail assets and are dedicated to being the best source of information and expertise in the marketplace for private investors, developers, institutions and industry professionals. They are recognized as top brokers in the Boston and New England market and are consistently at the forefront of the net lease retail industry on a national level. Their goal is to bring together like-minded individuals who share their work ethic, integrity and passion for their work in the industry, predicated on a collaborative environment that enhances the team’s results through intelligent communication and cooperation. In the past five years, they have exponentially grown their sales team with minimal departures and opened nine new offices. Outside of work, they raise money and allocate time to several local, regional and national charities, including Habitat for Humanity, the Massachusetts Down Syndrome Congress and the Italian Home for Children.

Horvath & Tremblay

The Foundry Commercial Raleigh Retail team recognizes that uncertainty is something that can’t be avoided, so they have chosen to approach recent challenges collectively and collaboratively. Relying on each other and the broader Foundry team, they have shown that challenge and uncertainty aren’t something they are afraid of but something they embrace. This includes covering for principal James Mattox when he was hospitalized for two months last year. The team benefits from the experience and expertise of its four members, including Mattox; SVPs Julie Augustyn and Ross Diachenko; and senior associate Nolan Mills. Playing the long game is the team’s secret to success. An example is their representation of Whataburger, which initially approached Mattox seven years ago. Although the company did not move forward with a rollout at that time, Mattox continued to nurture a relationship with Whataburger, and it came back to Mattox when it was ready. Now Whataburger is a major client for the Raleigh team. The team specializes in new development, representation of national retailers, market rollout, box leasing, and outparcel sales and leases. Collectively, the team brought in $1.85 million in revenue in 2023 and extended its reach in the Greater Triangle Area as well as the Central and Eastern Carolinas. The team’s retail deals have totaled more than $278 million in the past three years. With the help of Blair Davenport, Foundry’s consumer marketing associate based in Raleigh, the team strategically attacks the community side of the retail business, which has been an important way it builds loyalty with clients. Through personalized social media accounts for different properties, such as Capital Marketplace, and specialized community events, Davenport increases traffic to the retail team’s properties. All four team members are members of ICSC and are committed to bettering the communities in which they live and work.

Foundry Commercial Raleigh Retail Team

Cushman & Wakefield executive directors Michael Marks and Evan Halkias serve retail investors throughout the Midwest with a focus on Chicago, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Columbus, Cleveland and Nashville. They are one of the highest-producing teams at the firm and have closed $1 billion in sales since January 2021. This includes the $113 million Fishers District in Fishers, IN, the $67.3 million Centennial Lakes Park in Edina, MN, and the $50.75 million Orchard Place in Skokie, IL. To optimize asset valuation, Marks and Halkias help clients navigate tenant lineup and merchandising mix to best position properties. That involves a deep understanding of tenant trends such as digital native brands’ pursuit of traditional retail; which restaurant, traditional retail and experiential concepts are best poised for success and why; and which markets those concepts view favorably. It also involves constant conversation and action regarding lease structures and the client’s outlook, whether that’s a planned exit in the next 24 months or a long-term hold. Since joining Cushman & Wakefield in 2012, the Marks/Halkias team has closed more than 315 retail investment transactions valued at $4.7 billion on 42.1 million square feet. Marks and Halkias love Chicago and are passionate about their work. One aspect of Chicago they both love is the city’s rich architectural history, and they have channeled that into finding adaptive reuses for two of Chicago’s iconic buildings in recent years: TAO Chicago is housed in the former Chicago Historical Society building and RH Gallery is in the former Three Arts Club.

Cushman & Wakefield’s Marks/Halkias Team

The Retail & Commercial Development team of Cox, Castle & Nicholson is one of the largest concentrations of retail attorneys in California with eight attorneys devoted primarily to retail development and leasing. The team, led by partner Gary Glick, was founded in 1987 and has completed transactions with nearly every national and regional tenant, ranging from mom-and-pop shops to big-box retailers, within major power centers, regional malls and entertainment/lifestyle centers. The group has also negotiated a variety of retail lease types, including build-to-suit, reverse build-to-suit, pad, shop and ground leases. Clients benefit from a collaborative approach among the group’s multidisciplinary team of attorneys who have expertise in joint-ventures/operating agreements, finance, insurance, tax, land use, zoning, environmental matters such as hazardous materials, bankruptcy, litigation and construction. Recent notable work includes representing the owner in connection with a build-to-suit lease with the LA Chargers football team for a $270 million practice facility in El Segundo. It also represented the landlord in negotiating and drafting a build-to-suit lease with Tesla in San Jose, CA for 50,000 square feet of space on five acres, and it represented the landlord in negotiating and drafting a lease with EOS Fitness in Corona, CA, for 36,000 square feet of space and an $15.1 million base lease value. Cox Castle’s RCDT has proven resilient during recent economic and industry challenges. The team’s focus is on building loyalty and strong bonds with clients and it believes that with those two ingredients, they can weather any storm. The team and its members have been recognized in several publications as top lawyers, and they are members of a variety of trade organizations including ICSC.

Cox, Castle & Nicholson Retail & Commercial Development Team

Despite increasing interest rates and market skepticism, the Warner retail team has maintained a positive perspective and remained the top-producing investment sales team at Colliers. The team was founded in 2010 and is led by vice chair El Warner, who has inspired both his 15-person team based in Southern California and the larger group of 400 retail specialists across 163 US offices as Colliers’ national retail capital markets leader. Among its notable transactions, the team sold Camarillo Village Square for $83.6 million, making it one of the highest-priced grocery-anchored multitenant properties to sell in Southern California in 2023. The team also achieved a cap rate record for a multitenant ground lease in Orange County. Each listing sold by the team was within 95% of the list price. Warner has fostered an environment where collaboration replaces competition to best serve clients, and team members believe they are more valuable working together than the sum of their parts. They adhere to four foundational pillars, including unmatched expertise, certainty of execution, passion for helping others and dedication to giving back. Warner conducts monthly calls with agents and teams across the country to share his knowledge and perspective while supporting them in navigating the retail investment sales space. “This has been the best team and culture that I have been a part of in my 25 years in the business,” says team member and Colliers SVP Charley Simpson. “There is a very positive energy and unselfish culture on the team and it all originates from our visionary leader.” The team donates a portion of each fee earned to local organizations that support brick-and-mortar retail and the surrounding community.

Colliers’ Warner Retail Team

Senior broker Jim Kovacs leads a cohesive and innovative retail team in Florida for Colliers that specializes in retail tenant representation, emphasizing creating unique off-market opportunities and influencing owners to redevelop or adaptively reuse underutilized real estate. The group got its start in 2012 and includes four brokers, two marketing/research staff and in-house GIS professionals. Team members have collaborated with more than 100 retailers, restaurants and retail service providers including small business owners, junior-box and big-box retailers as well as every category in the restaurant industry from QSR to fine dining. They are adept at gauging market demand for specific retail categories by navigating demographics, consumer behavior, real estate assets and retail capacity. Deals range from 700 square feet to expansive transactions exceeding 300,000 square feet and from single tenants to brand rollouts encompassing more than 100 units. Thanks to the team’s reputation, they often assist master brokers within Colliers and from competing firms to represent clients expanding in Florida, and the team has been instrumental in the development and revitalization of retail trade areas by advising on merchandising strategies and trade area definition. During the past three years, the team has completed 232 transactions totaling more than $686 million in volume and 11 million square feet. From 2017 through 2023, the team was Colliers’ top-producing retail team in Central and West Florida and has regularly earned Colliers’ coveted Everest Club designation which accounts for the top 10% of all Colliers producers nationally across all service lines. The team is committed to various local and national charities, including organizing clothing drives for Clothes to Kids and providing support to Colliers colleagues through supply donations and financial support after Hurricane Ian hit Ft. Myers in 2022.

Colliers’ Kovacs Retail Team

First VP Zachary Card and senior associate Erik Krasney specialize in retail and mixed-use properties for CBRE’s Southern California region. Their expertise extends to urban mixed-use developments, high-street retail, anchored neighborhood centers and lifestyle centers in Los Angeles. The team represents institutional investors and private family office clients as well as national, regional and local tenants, including chef-driven restaurants, innovative food and beverage concepts, cutting-edge retail brands, health and wellness establishments and service-oriented tenants. Using mass mobile data analysis has allowed the team to gain insights into consumer behavior beyond traditional demographics, helping it match the right tenant to the appropriate neighborhood to maximize the benefit to local consumers. Throughout their careers, Card and Krasney have completed more than 950 transactions, with a total consideration exceeding $1.2 billion. They take pride in their work with adaptive reuse projects that preserve the original character and architecture of L.A.’s distinctive neighborhoods, including projects in Larchmont Boulevard, Culver City, Playa Vista, Silver Lake and Arts District. Their achievements include leasing in Cumulus District, a ground-up transit-oriented development by Carmel Partners anchored by a 50,000-square-foot Whole Foods the team secured. The development encompasses 1,210 apartments, a one-acre public park and plaza, and 100,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space. In addition, the team facilitated 50,000 square feet of retail and restaurant leases at Ivy Station, an expansive ground-up mixed-use development situated on 5.2 acres in Culver City. This development features HBO/Warner Media’s West Coast headquarters, 200 apartments, the Shay Hotel, the Culver City Expo Line Station, and a half-acre park, which has become a hub for community events. Their efforts on this project earned the team the Los Angeles Business Journal Gold Award for Best Retail Deal of the Year.

CBRE Southern California Retail Teams

With experience working on transactions for landlords and tenants, Adler & Stachenfeld LLP partners Risa Letowsky and Eric Menkes identify leasing solutions that benefit both sides of transactions. As co-chairs of the firm’s leasing practice group, founded in 1998, Letowsky and Menkes bring 40 years of combined experience to the retail real estate industry. They exclusively focus on commercial leasing, representing top-tier retail clients nationwide, including Prada, Gucci Group, Hermes and Polo Ralph Lauren, on big box retail deals, street-level retail deals and enclosed and strip mall leases. The team also represents leading landlords, such as RXR, Jamestown, Angelo, Gordon & Co., Crown Acquisitions EQ Office, Olmstead Properties and Savanna. Due to their extensive experience, Letowsky and Menkes can advise clients on issues beyond legal matters that help them expand and maximize the value of their space. To mitigate the impacts of COVID-19, they were proactive in renegotiating deals and structuring unique lease agreements, such as%age rent, short-term leases and management agreements, which successfully shielded clients from some of the worst impacts of the pandemic. Located in New York City, Letowsky and Menkes have been involved in leasing space within some of the most prominent retail properties in the market and also have a significant presence in Las Vegas, most notably representing Wynn Resorts on the leasing of Wynn Plaza, a 70,000-square-foot luxury shopping center, and the existing luxury retail spaces at Wynn Las Vegas. In addition to traditional retail, Letowsky and Menkes have advised on experiential retail spaces such as Area 15, a 200,000-square-foot immersive entertainment complex developed by Fisher Brothers. Letowsky and Menkes are involved in various community-based programs including Brothers On a New Direction, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing young men of color with mentorship and systematic support needed to achieve academic success.

Adler & Stachenfeld LLP Leasing Practice Group

During the pandemic when people began to spend more time outside, Molly Morgan keyed in on an opportunity to re-imagine mixed-use spaces with increased outdoor seating and lounge areas. Her takeaway has been that retailer needs and consumer tastes are continuously evolving and it is critical to analyze each brand and identify locations where it will thrive. As EVP of retail leasing at JLL, Morgan and her team focus on identifying tenants and creative uses for mixed-use projects and attracting best-in-class brands to the Southeast region. Since 2021, she has secured more than 70 leases totaling more than 250,000 square feet across 15 projects. Her current portfolio includes more than 30 projects encompassing more than seven million square feet of retail. She has 13 years of experience delivering retail experiences and has executed more than one million square feet and more than $10 million in transactions. Morgan also focuses on bringing tenants to new markets with an eye toward designing a retail mix best suited for each community. Some examples of first-to-market tenants she has brought to projects include Boqueria, a vibrant Barcelona-style tapas bar at Colony Square; Hampton Social, a restaurant and bar with a coastal garden design at High Street; and Rowan, a high-end piercing studio located at Avalon. Prior to joining JLL, Morgan served as a portfolio review manager for the East region with General Growth Properties where she was responsible for assisting leasing efforts at Mizner Park and the Village of Merrick Park in South Florida. Her leasing success and expert insights are regularly featured in top commercial real estate and retail trade publications. She received JLL’s Rising Star award in 2021, which recognizes leasing agents who demonstrate a passion for their work and embody JLL’s values of teamwork, ethics and excellence.

Molly Morgan

Zack McNamara is an expert on Orlando’s retail scene with an eye for spotting untapped potential. He specializes in representing and discovering overlooked spaces, particularly in catering to different ethnic and multinational grocers looking to expand into Central Florida where mainstream retail dominates the market. McNamara is a senior director at Franklin Street where he leads the firm’s retail leasing division and plays a pivotal role in assisting owners and landlords of shopping centers and other retail assets located in Orlando and the surrounding areas. His approach is characterized by a keen understanding of market dynamics and a relentless pursuit of value creation. One of his standout achievements was securing a lease deal and representing Bravo Supermarkets, a prominent chain catering to ethnically diverse communities, in purchasing multiple properties throughout Central Florida. Furthermore, his role in facilitating lease agreements with Fancy Fruit underscores his commitment to supporting a diverse range of retail tenants. These deals not only contribute to the economic vitality of the communities they serve but also highlight McNamara’s expertise in site selection and negotiation. He employs a multifaceted approach that combines market research, cultural understanding and a deep network of community connections. His commitment to diversity in retail and community service reflects a deeper ethos of inclusivity and social responsibility, and beyond finding spaces for his clients, McNamara is committed to the economic development and revitalization of neighborhoods. His extensive track record of more than $100 million in commercial real estate transactions underscores his proficiency and effectiveness in navigating complex leasing landscapes. McNamara volunteers in child services at Orlando Health Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children. His dedication to supporting vulnerable children and families showcases a deep-rooted commitment to making a positive difference in the community.

Zack McNamara

Don McMinn is a founding member and principal of the Taylor McMinn retail group of Marcus & Millichap, an investment sales team that specializes in the disposition of net lease and shopping center properties nationwide. Last year, McMinn closed 61 transactions valued at more than $1.41 million. Representing developers of national retail chains, corporate, institutional-level and private clients, private equity groups, national tenants, franchisees and build-to-suit specialists, McMinn and his team have completed more than 750 transactions totaling more than $1.5 billion. Recent notable closings include Merganser Commons at Hills and Dales Farms, a 59,391-square-foot new construction Publix-anchored center in Atlanta; Inverness Corners, a 241,935-square-foot grocery center in Hoover, AL; Port Royal Plaza, a 90,860-square-foot shopping center on Hilton Head Island, SC; and a $54 million, 35-property, 12-state Dollar General portfolio sale. McMinn can adapt to change, innovate while keeping a focus on service, and attain the best possible outcome for clients. Understanding that recent disruptions would not last forever, McMinn has leveraged market upheaval as an opportunity to explore innovative ways to serve clients. He has earned the firm’s national achievement award every year since 2013 and attained its Chairman’s Circle of Excellence in 2021. He is an active member of ICSC and contributes his time and resources privately to many worthy causes.

Don McMinn

As president and CEO of ICSC, Tom McGee has spent nearly a decade driving innovation, growth and resilience in the retail real estate industry. He is responsible for setting the organization’s strategy to advance the industry’s narrative, grow and engage ICSC’s membership, maintain stewardship of the organization’s finances, and enhance product and service offerings for not only ICSC members but the industry as a whole. He brings more than three decades of experience as a business leader to this role and has established himself as the voice of the industry for the organization’s nearly 50,000 members. Under McGee’s leadership, ICSC connects industry experts and creates a flow of critical insights across the industry. He leads ICSC’s largest annual events in New York and Las Vegas, where he shares insights during keynote sessions. He is an active thought leader on LinkedIn with more than 3,300 followers and shares frequent long-form commentary on industry trends in his newsletter, “From Where I Sit,” to more than 1,700 subscribers. His prominent social media presence also landed him on RETHINK Retail’s 2024 Top Retail Experts list, alongside other key leaders. McGee recently has committed to addressing organized retail crime and mitigating its impact. He played a significant role in ICSC’s Organized Retail Crime Summit in March 2023, a first-of-its-kind event held in partnership with the Loss Prevention Research Council. He also spearheads research to benefit the industry, including recent studies on the rise of Gen Z consumers. Prior to ICSC, McGee spent 26 years at Deloitte where he was vice chairman, deputy CEO and national managing partner of M&A services. He was also a member of Deloitte’s Global and US executive and operational leadership committee.

Tom McGee

Alanna Loeffler began her industry career in 2006 and joined Cushman & Wakefield in 2012 to provide New York City retailers and real estate owner and investor clients with multichannel marketing solutions. She rose quickly through the ranks due to her creative approach and laser focus on strategy. Previously, Loeffler led retail marketing efforts across the Americas for Cushman & Wakefield where she created and executed strategic marketing plans and expanded the depth of retail thought leadership. Today she is managing director of business strategy, Americas retail services, at the firm. Loeffler says she considers herself the thread in the needle of the team. In this role, she works with national clients to develop business strategies and enrich client and broker engagements across North America. Within the platform team, she provides strategic and operational leadership, direction and oversight for thought leadership programming and content, marketing and PR initiatives, and key industry events. She incorporates research, data and analytics to formulate trends and insights for clients. A unique segment in which she actively works is emerging direct-to-consumer brands looking to expand their brick-and-mortar strategy through short- and long-term store formats that allow them to test different retail experiences and formats, test new markets, expand brand visibility and grow their customer base. Loeffler is active in multiple Cushman & Wakefield employee resource groups and serves as a mentor through the Women’s Integrated Network Northern California mentorship program. She has held tri-state and national leadership roles within the group since 2016. Loeffler also is a member of ICSC.

Alanna J. Loeffler

Richard Lake is selective about which projects his firm pursues – they must be transformative in both their programming and their communities. Lake co-founded Washington D.C.-based Roadside Development LLC 20 years ago to focus on creating retail and mixed-use environments. Notable recent projects include City Ridge, the $715 million redevelopment of the 10-acre former Fannie Mae headquarters in Northwest Washington D.C.; City Market at O & 880P, a one-million-square-foot, urban infill project in the heart of the Shaw neighborhood; Stonebridge at Potomac Town Center, a 105-acre mixed-use retail town center and residential community in Woodbridge, VA; and Cityline at Tenley, which preserved and transformed an abandoned historic Sears building into an award-winning mixed-use project. City Ridge and City Market at O were already more than 90% leased prior to completion. Lake hails from a retail family. His grandfather owned food markets and his father owned restaurants. This has provided him an intimate knowledge of the mechanics of the industry, a love for retail and a reputation for being fair. During COVID-19 he worked with all his tenants to ensure they were able to remain in business and in place through creative means, including adjusting some temporarily to percentage rents. Prior to Roadside, he was the founding partner of the Retail Group and led full-service retail brokerage firm Madison Retail Group. He began his career in real estate as a broker with Smithy Braedon ONCOR International. Lake’s talent for working with development teams and optimizing a project’s full value potential throughout all stages of the real estate cycle is one of his greatest assets. He has consulted on several real estate projects throughout the country, bringing expertise in place-making by creating successful retail environments and public spaces that amenitize and enhance residential, commercial and cultural uses to become vibrant mixed-use communities.

Richard Lake

Steven Kirkham is a partner at Holland & Knight LLP and co-leads the firm’s retail and leasing team. He has more than three decades of experience. Described as unflappable, he is known for closing complex acquisitions and navigating challenging development schedules as he manages high-value and high-transaction portfolios across the country. Kirkham often extends beyond real estate matters to address broader legal needs, showcasing a comprehensive understanding of corporate finance and governance, assisting C-suite executives with litigation management, corporate governance and other matters, and supervising multidisciplinary legal teams. Kirkham’s experience includes shopping center and retail development, including preparation of reciprocal easement agreements and other shopping center governance documents; acquisition, financing and deal structure of multi-location projects; acquisition and development of healthcare and medical facilities in retail settings; lease transactions; acquisitions and dispositions; and financing sale-leaseback, build-to-suit and reverse build-to-suit transactions. An example of his work is his representation of Fabletics in its expansion from its online presence into physical spaces across the country. In addition, Kirkham has played a pivotal role as lead development counsel for the development of numerous stores for Focus Brands, showcasing his expertise in navigating complex partnerships and expansion projects. His accolades include inclusion in the Chambers USA-America’s Leading Lawyers for Business Guide since 2003 as well as several other honors and awards. Kirkham’s commitment to the community extends to various organizations outside the industry. Actively participating in groups such as ULI and NAIOP, he brings his expertise and dedication to shaping the future of urban development and the built environment. Kirkham and his family also support animal rescue organizations, particularly Saving Stevie in Nashville, where they play a hands-on role in fostering kittens.

Steven Kirkham

Northmarq SVP Daniel Herrold is a 20-year veteran of the industry and has completed more than $3 billion in transaction volume through his tenure at Stan Johnson Co., which was acquired by Northmarq. At Stan Johnson Co., he played a key role in senior leadership and helped launch its first office outside of its Tulsa, Oklahoma, headquarters in Houston. In 2010, Herrold was promoted to executive managing director, where he continued the firm’s expansion by launching four additional offices in Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Phoenix. In 2013, he co-founded the firm’s first formal practice group – the corporate finance group – to provide sale-leasebacks, build-to-suit structuring and financing, lease advisory and restructuring and surplus property sales specifically to real estate operators and private equity groups. Today, Herrold leads a production team of three brokers and three support professionals in five cities. He encourages his team to think outside the box and to be creative about how to reach existing and future clients while maintaining a high level of integrity, customer service and consistent follow-up. Herrold added two new brokers to his team in 2023 and expanded his product scope to include multitenant centers across the nation. He continues to publish two well-known quarterly reports that detail the status of current and up-and-coming tenants and their footprint in the market. He also has established a popular social media presence and travels to different cities to offer networking events for other professionals. He is a coach in Northmarq’s associate program and a strong proponent of any new service line the company introduces, working to promote new expansions the company launches through his social media channels.

Daniel Herrold

Levin Management Corp. CEO Matthew Harding is a champion of the brick-and-mortar environment and a thought leader in the areas of open-air retail repositioning, renovation and redevelopment. Harding regularly shares insights on emerging trends, challenges and best practices, particularly regarding challenges including high-profile retail bankruptcies and the impact of e-commerce on retail. Harding and his team leverage LMC’s 125-property, 16-million-square-foot shopping center portfolio as a resource for industry insight. The firm’s award-winning retail sentiment survey gauges the strength of the retail sector from a street-level perspective. However, Harding believes his and LMC’s greatest influence is in how their work serves communities. LMC’s leasing strategy goes beyond simply filling space. Rather, it involves finding the perfect match both for a center’s existing co-tenancy and the community at large. Harding has been affiliated with LMC since 1986, when he handled leasing for Levin’s portfolio as EVP at Levin affiliate Paul Lawrence Realty Associates for 10 years. Harding joined LMC’s in-house team in 1996 as SVP and deputy COO and was named president and COO in 2001. He assumed the CEO title in 2019 and in that role he guides the 71-year-old company’s growth and operations and has spearheaded a significant, sustained expansion for the firm. This includes continually reinforcing and refining the firm’s in-house capabilities to meet the evolving needs of its client base including institutional, family office and high-net-worth investors/owners. Harding also sits on Levin’s board of directors. The firm’s chairman, William Farber, cites hiring Harding as a notable turning point for the company. “Today, Matt continues to drive LMC forward,” says Farber. “I credit the partnership he and I formed decades ago, and the team we built here, for where the company is today.”

Matthew K. Harding

Vicky Hammond has served in a variety of operational roles at Coreland Cos., a Southern California private CRE services company specializing in leasing and management of more than 12 million square feet of retail space. That experience has prepared her to be the leading voice at the 34-year-old firm in her current role as managing principal. Hammond leads more than 40 professionals and guides the company’s operations, client services and corporate growth. Under her leadership, Coreland experienced year-to-year growth and exceeded revenue goals by margins of 12% and 13% during the past five years, and during the past decade, company revenue has grown more than 50%. She also serves the industry through volunteer roles with ICSC, where she is the current Southern California/Southern Nevada marketplace council director overseeing volunteers and activities in the region. The team leads ICSC’s largest membership base, has helped produce successful local and regional events, and has supported ICSC’s efforts in government relations, community partnerships, university advancement and member recruitment. In addition, Hammond is passionate about empowering young female professionals and encouraging student interest in retail commercial real estate. She mentors students annually through ICSC’s Foundation Mentorship program and has mentored young industry professionals through CREW’s Orange County mentorship program. Outside work, Hammond is an active volunteer in church ministries and school boards. She spends evenings and weekends helping organizations where her two sons play sports and are involved with community activities.

Vicky Hammond

After spending the first two decades of his career in retail development and corporate real estate for some of the nation’s leading retailers, David Greensfelder switched his focus to addressing, advising and solving pressing retail issues such as the intersection of e-commerce and brick-and-mortar stores and how consumers shop. He founded Greensfelder Real Estate Strategy with the goal of moving beyond the typical economic analysis, economic development strategies and development feasibility analysis to instead focus on consumer behaviors as a key part of the approach to arrive at a sustainable retail footprint and design. By looking at behaviors associated with the purchase of various goods and services, he can craft recommendations tailored to each unique situation, creating a project or district that is consistent with the client’s vision and a built environment that is consistent with desired shopping behaviors. Greensfelder pioneered the Retail Resilience model to facilitate creating sustainable planning, economic development, project, and placemaking strategies and recommendations for communities and stakeholders where creating vibrant commercial districts and projects is a goal. He advises government agencies ranging from local communities to state agencies, institutional real estate owners and real estate investors on community design, retail-related economic development initiatives, and retail project feasibility and positioning. In addition to his GRES responsibilities, Greensfelder is a member of the board for the Center for Creative Land Recycling and a frequent contributor to professional organizations including ULI, ICSC, the American Planning Association and media publications focusing on retail-related thought leadership and emerging retail trends.

David Greensfelder

Aurora Capital Associates principal and president Jared Epstein has influenced the transformation of the Meatpacking District in New York City from a flailing neighborhood to a premier retail location. While at Aurora, he has completed more than $2.5 billion in transactions, including the acquisition of 20 properties in the Meatpacking District, making Aurora the largest owner and developer in the neighborhood. Epstein also has been influential in bringing high-end brands to the SoHo retail market. He is deeply involved in the communities as a founding member of the board of the Meatpacking District’s Improvement Association and BID, a founding member of the board of the SoHo Broadway BID, and a member of the 34th Street Partnership. When faced with the challenges of the pandemic, Epstein decided to react rather than wait for it to pass. To keep traffic and eyes on the Meatpacking District, he organized “Seven Deadly Sins” a month-long performance series that took place throughout the district in vacant spaces by Broadway performers out of work from the pandemic. The series was so successful that it sold out almost immediately after opening and was extended to accommodate demand. At Aurora, Epstein is responsible for discovering and analyzing potential acquisitions and completing purchases helped by his large network of contacts and commitment to rigorous research and analysis. He is responsible for all leasing functions, overseeing the daily activities of leasing operations by organizational policies and standards, and he develops and implements policies and procedures to improve efficiency and profitability. Beyond deal volume, he has been recognized with several awards since he joined Aurora in 2007, including by CoStar as a PowerBroker of the year seven times.

Jared Epstein

With nearly four decades of experience, Barry Edwards’ work on behalf of landlords has helped shape the brick-and-mortar shopping experience while keeping retail commerce flowing in many of California’s major cities and across the West. A partner at Greenberg Glusker LLP, Edwards focuses exclusively on retail leasing, representing more than 18 million square feet of retail space across California, Nevada and Arizona, primarily grocery-anchored shopping centers owned by real estate families or commercial real estate companies and developers. Edwards was a founding partner of Hamburg, Karic, Edwards & Martin LLP, where he practiced real estate law and leasing for 27 years. Edwards and his partner Gregg Martin merged their practices with the national real estate practice at Greenberg Glusker in 2022, where Edwards has continued to expand his footprint. Edwards drafts and negotiates leases and lease amendments with an unwavering focus on seeing the deal reach completion. As an industry veteran, he can quickly spot issues before they arise, helping his clients save money and avoid headaches. Due to the nature of his practice, Edwards is often sought out by other real estate attorneys within his firm as well as outside counsel for his nuanced insight. In the past three years, he has handled more than 400 leases and amendments, generally for retail locations in multi-million-dollar shopping centers. Edwards has been widely recognized across the commercial real estate industry, including being named to the L.A. Times B2B Publishing’s list of commercial real estate visionaries in 2023. He is a thought leader and frequent speaker at industry conferences, including for ICSC, where he recently spoke about best practices for revising and repurposing shopping centers and malls.

Barry G. Edwards

With extensive experience in retail real estate, Emily Durham brings a specialized understanding of the unique challenges and opportunities within the food and beverage industry to her role as an SVP at JLL. Durham is JLL’s national lead for food and beverages advisory services, bringing 35 years of restaurant industry experience to her role. Durham works closely with food and beverage clients, assisting them in finding the perfect locations for their establishments in her local market of Houston and nationally. She conducts thorough market analysis, identifies suitable properties, negotiates lease terms, and offers guidance on expansion strategies, portfolio optimization, and navigating the various challenges and regulations that the food and beverage industry faces. Within JLL, Emily helps shape the firm’s food and beverage practice and collaborates with colleagues across disciplines and geographies. She is the national restaurant chair for JLL’s hotel team, assisting in leasing restaurant spaces in hotels all over the World. She was recently awarded the listing for the restaurant at the Waldorf Astoria in Buckhead, Atlanta. Durham participates in industry conferences, sharing insights on emerging trends and best practices and shaping the direction of the retail real estate industry. Through her online presence on platforms like LinkedIn, she provides industry updates, shares expertise and engages with fellow professionals. Alongside her work in retail real estate, Durham serves as a board member of the Texas Restaurant Association Foundation, an organization dedicated to supporting educational opportunities for aspiring professionals in the Texas restaurant industry. In addition, she holds an executive board position in the Texas Restaurant Association’s Houston chapter, where she advocates for the restaurant industry on a regional level. She actively participates in the National ProStart program, which teaches high school students about various aspects of the restaurant industry.

Emily Durham

During the past decade, Jason DuFault has leased more than 450,000 square feet of retail space and executed more than $90 million in retail property sales. In recent years he has upped his game in the retail sector, creating an innovative program that works to reverse-engineer an asset based on a client’s risk tolerance, long- and short-term strategies, personal wealth goals and tax strategy, and other factors unique to the investor’s situation and wealth-building objectives. DuFault is the managing director for KW Commercial’s Long Beach office, where he oversees 15 agents plus more than 40 agents throughout the Southern California region. In his regional role, he also actively participates with the KW International Commercial group and plays an integral role in the implementation of market center growth and production and all corporate communication. He is currently representing a private client in the sale of an off-market $156 million retail property portfolio, and more than the past 12 months, DuFault has negotiated sales and leasing transactions with Five Guys, several independent restaurants, Let’s Go Paint, Starbucks and Chick-fil-A. He has seen an uptick in retail demand post-COVID-19 from entrepreneurs who want to pursue their retail or restaurant dreams and works to identify the ideal space as well as advising clients on securing SBA loans for owner-user purposes. DuFault has consistently been a top 1% producer for KW in the Southern California region. He supports Precious Lamb Preschool in its fundraising efforts by involving KW’s market center, which gathers donations to provide essentials for homeless children as well as donating a percentage of gross earnings to the school. Precious Lamb Preschool is free for children living in shelters and rehabilitation programs in the greater Long Beach area.

Jason DuFault

Jim Dillavou holds 22 years of experience in the real estate industry with a background in capital markets and law and a specialized focus on the retail industry for much of his career. Throughout his career, Dillavou has led several marquee transactions within the necessity-based retail subsector, and in the past three years, he has overseen numerous transactions transforming vacant or blighted real estate into vibrant neighborhood gathering spaces in high- traffic markets. He entered the industry as a real estate and finance attorney with Lathan & Watkins LLP, representing developers, equity investors and lenders in capital structuring, acquisitions, dispositions, leasing and entitlements throughout the US before transitioning into property investments. Dillavou co-founded development and investment firm Paragon Commercial Group in 2009 to capitalize on the retail real estate opportunities resulting from market dislocation. With a focus on grocery-anchored and necessity-based retail, Dillavou grew Paragon to become a prominent real estate investment firm on the West Coast, acquiring and operating 2.2 million square feet of retail space across 30 acquisitions. Dillavou then stepped into the role of national head of retail investments and retail capital markets at Lincoln Property Co. in 2023 through Paragon’s joint-venture with Lincoln. In this role, Dillavou leads Lincoln’s retail real estate investment management strategy, focused on institutional quality retail assets on the West Coast. While many CRE companies have avoided retail, Dillavou and Lincoln are taking the opportunity to invest in the retail market while there are lower valuations. Beyond his investment work, Dillavou helps guide and inspire the next generation of real estate professionals as a lecturer at the University of Southern California Gould School of Law and the UC Berkeley Master of Real Estate programs.

Jim Dillavou

CrossMarc Services LLC founder and CEO John Crossman has more than three decades of experience in real estate, during which he developed grit and tenacity in all kinds of markets. He built a successful career with Trammell Crow Co. and was a founding member of the firm’s East Coast retail investment team that completed more than $3 billion in sales and top rankings in Florida retail easing. Following his 13-year tenure there, Crossman became CEO of Crossman & Co. and during the span of another 13 years from 2006-2019 helped build it into the Southeast’s largest retail leasing, management and investment sales firms, with more than 28 million square feet of properties in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, North Carolina and Tennessee. After founding CrossMarc Services in 2019, Crossman built the real estate investment, brokerage and advisory firm’s portfolio of properties handled to more than 1.1 million square feet of retail space. Crossman also launched talent development organization Crossman Career Builders, which focuses on coaching and mentoring college students, young real estate professionals and CEOs. In early 2022 Crossman established The Crossman Conversation and later the Crossman Conversation CEO Edition, a weekly podcast where he explores the perspectives of real estate industry leaders and CEOs on challenges in the world of retail real estate. He is passionate about inspiring the next generation of commercial real estate professionals and has provided opportunities for diverse students throughout his career by endowing scholarships at colleges and universities, especially HBCUs. Crossman authored the book “Career Killers/Career Builders: The Book Every Millennial Should Read,” based on his most popular speech at colleges and universities during the past three decades.

John M. Crossman

Dena Cohen is adept at bringing parties from opposite sides to the table together, helping them forge agreements and understandings. Throughout her 36-year career, she has made a mark in New York City and worked with a wide range of landlords from mom-and-pop shops to institutional organizations. She has been a partner at Herrick and a member of its real estate department for more than 18 years serving as leasing regional to many retail landlords. This includes representing a family office in the leasing of its retail properties on the Upper East Side of Manhattan where she negotiates and helps administer leases with tenants such as Mattress Firm, CVS, a Steep Rock-climbing gym and several restaurants. Cohen recently represented the William Macklowe Co. in leasing the retail portion of its development site in Park Slope, Brooklyn. She handled the leases to anchor tenants CVS, which leased 10,000 square feet, and Lidl, the discount supermarket whose lease adhered to guidelines negotiated with the community following concerns over the previous owner’s desire to displace an affordable grocery store. She also practices leasehold condominium work, helping not-for-profit companies obtain exemption from NYC real estate taxes on leased property. Cohen has written extensively on this subject and is one of a small number of real estate attorneys who are skilled in this area. She is a frequent speaker on various retail topics and often contributes to media coverage of the industry. Cohen devotes time outside client work to mentorship and training junior attorneys, and she feels strongly about creating opportunities for women and minorities, especially by making sure they felt supported during the pandemic. Cohen is proud of her work with the NYC Bar Association Legal Clinic for the Homeless, where she helped people, many of whom have mental health challenges, navigate public assistance programs.

Dena Cohen

With 22 years of experience on both the landlord and tenant side of the business, Lee & Associates VP Christina Coffey is a powerhouse in the Raleigh-Durham Triangle CRE market and an influencer in the retail real estate field. Within Lee & Associates, she is a key member of the real estate team and mentors younger brokers in the office. With more than 20 years of experience, Coffey has completed more than 500 retail deals valued at $200 million and totaling 1.5 million square feet. In the past three years, she has closed 52 deals with a value of more than $22 million. During the past year she secured the Veridea project, a $3 billion mixed-use development in Apex, NC, as the Lee & Associates retail team’s listing agent and led her team to a No. 2 ranking in performance among all Lee & Associates locations in the US and Canada. Coffey balances a successful career as a retail broker with a dedication to community service, engaging in various nonprofit organizations and leveraging her skills and influence to make a positive impact on the community. Her involvement with Band Together for the past 12 years showcases her commitment to community-driven initiatives. Serving as a board member, community board co-chair and steering committee co-chair, she played a pivotal role in raising more than $1 million, benefiting 98 local charities. She also is a board member and facilities committee chair for SAFEchild as well as a board member and co-chair of the Friends of North Carolina Freedom Park. She is a leader within Triangle CREW, ICSC, the Downtown Raleigh Alliance and the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce.

Christina Coffey

With nearly three decades of experience, Colliers EVP of retail Spencer Bomar is one of the Southeast region’s top retail brokerage professionals. Prior to joining the firm in 2023, he was a principal in Avison Young’s retail advisory group for more than 12 years after being the firm’s first retail hire in the US. During his tenure, he served major brands such as Target, BJ’s Wholesale and Home Depot. His experience also includes senior roles at Transwestern, North American Properties and Staubach Retail Services. His responsibilities encompass guiding retailers in site selection, dispositions, lease negotiations and build-to-suit agreements. Bomar strategically navigated the post-pandemic landscape with strategic acumen by positioning his clients to capitalize on diverse market opportunities. Throughout the past three years, he has negotiated leases exceeding one million square feet. Colleagues say he has an unwavering commitment to excellence and proficiency in complex transactions. “His positive energy and great sense of humor always made a difference in the office,” says Tina Harris, SVP Retail Advisory Services at Avison Young, who has worked with Bomar for more than 11 years. “He is an excellent collaborator, highly motivated, focused, authentic and a friend to everyone.” Bomar was recognized as a top retail broker by the Atlanta Commercial Board of Realtors. His performance is evidenced by a substantial portfolio, with transactions totaling more than $151 million. His personal philosophy revolves around never over-promising but consistently aiming to over-deliver, a principle that extends beyond the workplace to include family and friends. Bomar advocates for avoiding quick gains and emphasizes the importance of playing the long game.

Spencer Bomar

Under the leadership of Terranova Corp. founder and chairman Stephen Bittel, Lincoln Road in Miami Beach and Miracle Mile in Coral Cables have transformed into thriving retail real estate hubs. Both areas have experienced a surge in new-to-market fashion and food and beverage businesses that appeal to locals and tourists. Bittel founded Terranova in 1980, managing a single commercial property for a local partnership. Initially concentrating on the acquisition of unanchored shopping strips, Bittel directed Terranova to adapt its strategy, progressively shifting toward supermarket-anchored centers. Responding to the evolving landscape of urban living, Bittel strategically positioned the company to enter the urban retail market, particularly in areas like Miami Beach and Coral Gables where residents increasingly gravitated toward urban environments. Since then, the firm has become a nationally recognized thought leader in the CRE industry. During his 40 years in the industry, Bittel has built robust relationships and developed a proven model that underscores the creation of value for stakeholders as well as the community. A pivotal moment in Bittel’s success story was the strategic acquisition of properties on Miami Beach’s iconic Lincoln Road. Acquiring properties as low as $850 per-square-foot for a total of $52 million, this deal solidified Terranova’s position as a leader in the industry. He is now guiding Terranova to extend its strategic investments to include life sciences, technology, healthcare, petroleum and agriculture. During the past three years, Terranova has achieved notable success in capital market transactions, closing deals for 858,251 square feet, totaling $230.1 million. Separately, Terranova is involved in planning the construction of a groundbreaking retail building at 93 Miracle Mile. This innovative project is slated to be Florida’s first-ever carbon-neutral mixed-use building.

Stephen Bittel

Justin Barry has played an instrumental role in consolidating the once-fragmented car wash industry by helping operators through multiple acquisitions that also give investors access to solid cash flows via leasing deals. He is a partner at Morris, Manning & Martin LLP and employs his 15 years of industry experience to creatively structure deals, streamline legal processes and find the right investors to help finance transactions. Since entering the competitive car wash space in 2020, Barry and his team have presided more than more than 150 deals, building national players while working with sellers, buyers, equity landlords and lenders. His strategy relies on using sale-leasebacks to help car wash operators finance growth rather than traditional financing arrangements, freeing up cash for rapid expansion. Barry also has developed user-friendly systems to bring efficiency to a process with many disparate parties by using documents that are fair, marketable and effective regardless of the sophistication of the counterparty. Barry counsels car wash clients with employment, insurance, general liability and litigation issues. For example, he drafted disclaimer language on signs customers see when entering a car wash tunnel. His work helped a Charlotte-based car wash operator grow to more than 120 locations as of January 2024, up from 12 sites four years earlier, counting nine states in the Midwest and Southwest and vaulting it into the top 10 largest operators nationwide. Barry joined Morris Manning in 2016, building a loyal client base throughout the years. He oversees a team of eight lawyers, including two junior partners and five associates. While car washes are an important part of Barry’s practice, he and his team are involved in all areas of real estate transactions. He represents both landlords and tenants and has represented several national big-box retailers in commercial leasing matters. His practice generates $6 million to $7 million in billings annually.

Justin S. Barry

Knowing that great strategy starts with understanding the wants, needs and desires of the consumer, Emily Albright Miller creates breakthrough designs and connected experiences to deliver brand and business growth. She studies human and social behavior to analyze motivating factors to learn how target audiences behave and feel. Last year, she spearheaded research on consumer experience designed to understand how retailers could emulate the success food-service brands had with innovating during the pandemic. The study found consumers are especially open to ideas that relieve pain points around browsing, purchasing and picking up items. As SVP of strategy at JLL Design Solutions, Miller provides brand strategy and design consultancy services, working with clients across North America, Central America, Europe and Asia to create engaging retail environments. She has 23 years of experience and her expertise has positively impacted more than 30 leading brands and influenced more than 12,000 retail environments globally. One example was a 16-month project Miller and her team worked on with Happy Beauty Co. By surveying more than 1,000 consumers, the team determined what consumers want in the beauty space, which helped it narrow down the final brand concept, name and logo, in-store design and experience, local marketing activations and grand opening planning. She spends a considerable amount of time in the field auditing the retail environments of her clients and their competitors as well as conducting intercepts, shop-alongs and ethnographic research with consumers. One of her favorite activities is employee day-in-the-life evaluations which allow her to ensure the retail design delivers equally on the needs of the consumers and the employees working in the environment.

Emily Albright Miller

Design by Chris Nicholls

Illustration: xy/Adobe Stock

Jimmy Slusher Since his arrival at CBRE more than decade ago, Jimmy Slusher has logged a remarkable ascent through the…

Jason Pierson Jason Pierson began his career with a national institutional brokerage firm, gaining experience as he rose through…

Pat Slagle Colliers VP Pat Slagle joined the firm at the start of 2023 to help develop the company’s retail team for the…

Adam N. Tritt Brookfield Properties chief development officer Adam Tritt’s vision of the mall of the future includes building…

Nikki Traff During her two-decade career, Colliers EVP Nikki Traff has leased more than 10 lifestyle shopping centers…

Natalia Stezenko In the world of mixed-use development and retail property management, Natalia Stezenko is the kind…

Shawn Smith When he isn’t busy chauffeuring his two sons to activities and coaching Little League, Shawn Smith is a…

Jackie Totolo Newmark senior managing director Jackie Totolo’s methodology emphasizes partnerships that align the…

Dan Sutherland Early in his 22-year career, Dan Sutherland was already a mover and shaker in the CRE world. He started his…

Sandy Sigal Sandy Sigal founded privately held shopping center developer and owner NewMark Merrill Cos. in 1997 and…

Mark Sigal A pioneer in the retail real estate technology field, Mark Sigal leads Datex Property Solutions as CEO. Along with…

Tara A. Scanlon With extensive experience and an exceptional ability to lead complicated and prominent deals…

Evan Rosenblatt Under the leadership of Evan Rosenblatt, PEBB Enterprises has significantly expanded its development…

Kelly Price With sincerity and excellent communication skills, CIRE Equity director of business development Kelly…

David Poline David Poline has influenced the careers of numerous professionals and the success of companies…

Michael Platt Michael Platt is a trained architect who has spent more than two decades working in the retail, mixed-use…

Emalia Pietsch Colliers SVP Emalia Pietsch has influenced the way retail is marketed across Hawaii. Positioning herself…

With sincerity and excellent communication skills, CIRE Equity director of business development Kelly Price has fostered authentic connections with tenants, vendors, colleagues and community members. Price formulates and implements CIRE’s property-level marketing strategy with a specialized focus on lifestyle- and big box-anchored multitenant retail centers. She is a pivotal link between asset management and property management, orchestrating specialty leasing arrangements to optimize revenue generation. One of her primary responsibilities is developing the portfolio’s specialty leasing strategy, which encompasses initiatives ranging from seasonal retail activations and pop-up ventures to stationary EV charging stations, parking lot activations, monument signage, advertising campaigns, farmer’s markets and donation bin placements. Possessing a discerning eye for content that drives revenue growth, Price excels in identifying lucrative opportunities to augment CIRE’s various income streams. With expertise in event planning and innovative marketing strategies, Price seeks out new and strategic approaches to boost foot traffic and deepen community engagement across the firm’s shopping centers. She has executed more than 100 ancillary deals, resulting in $18.8 million in value creation. On the marketing front, she has orchestrated more than 36 free community events, garnering more than $1 million in unpaid publicity. With nearly three decades of industry experience, Price has developed a philosophy that shopping centers are more than simply retail spaces; they are vital community hubs. As such, she prioritizes understanding the nuances of each community to transform CIRE’s assets into authentic spaces that resonate with residents’ interests. She champions numerous art programs and initiatives by offering pop-up spaces for art installations, and her philanthropic spirit is also evident in her event planning efforts as she prioritizes integrating charitable elements and allocating a portion of event profits to deserving causes. Outside of her professional endeavors, Price volunteers for various charitable organizations, including the San Diego Food Bank, Project Left Behind, 88bikes Foundation, National Charity League and Maui Wildfire Relief.

Kelly Price

Jason Pierson began his career with a national institutional brokerage firm, gaining experience as he rose through the ranks as a retail services broker in the New York and New Jersey markets. In 2011, he founded Pierson Commercial Real Estate with a two-fold vision to create a retail-focused brokerage firm with the sophisticated resources of a large corporation while encouraging an entrepreneurial mindset with the efficiency of a boutique firm. Thirteen years later, Pierson has been successful in his goals with a team he recruited who adhere to his personal and professional philosophy grounded in an ethical, hardworking and client-first culture. During his retail brokerage career, Pierson has closed billions of dollars in disposition and acquisition transactions as well as landlord/owner and tenant representation lease deals. He is widely acknowledged as an urban and suburban neighborhood center and power center specialist and works in every asset class from underperforming retail spaces in need of new tenants to new construction centers. Pierson Commercial’s retail leasing and property marketing assignments span seven million square feet of retail space. Pierson also is a lead mentor for newcomers to the profession. In this role, he helps identify and supervise up-and-coming industry talent, shares his industry wisdom and experiences, and encourages creativity, builds technical and market knowledge, and engages in continuous relationship-building. He has earned numerous industry accolades, including as an influential leader in CRE by a top New Jersey business trade outlet. He is frequently tapped for retail thought-leadership insight and commentary, and as a retail industry advocate, he is active in several professional industry organizations. Pierson is the New Jersey ICSC government relations co-chair, a former advisory board member for the Rutgers University Center for Real Estate, and an advisory board member and guest lecturer at Monmouth University’s Kislak Real Estate Institute.

Jason Pierson

David Poline has influenced the careers of numerous professionals and the success of companies throughout the retail real estate industry. He is the president and CEO of Poline Search Partners, which has offered executive recruitment services for 45 years. The privately owned firm was founded by his father, Rich Poline, and has placed more than 2,100 professionals in roles ranging from C-suite to middle management and entry-level roles in all disciplines. Poline leads a team that thoughtfully aligns a company’s mission, culture and role-specific requirements with a candidate’s career objectives, motivation and qualifications. During the past three years, Poline has rebranded the company, expanded his team with another full-time recruiter, partnered with more than 65 new companies, added more than 4,800 new people to its 70,000-person database, and secured a 90% repeat business rate, representing significant client satisfaction. His expertise was especially valuable during the shifting workforce environment brought on by COVID-19. For employees and prospects, he provided resources to help people make decisions about their career paths, the impact of moving out of cities, updating resumes and how to conduct a virtual interview. With employers, discussions included strategies for remote work, effective interview techniques, methods to facilitate employees’ return to the office, and other pandemic-induced challenges. Leveraging mediums such as blogs, speaking presentations and personal outreach, he educates and encourages the incoming generation to the shopping center industry. Poline shares his professional insights on recruiting and trends within the shopping center industry via a monthly blog. From interview and resume tips to DEI best practices, workplace trends and professional growth, these articles serve as an informational resource for both hiring managers and candidates.

David Poline

Michael Platt is a trained architect who has spent more than two decades working in the retail, mixed-use, hospitality and corporate sectors and gaining experience in design, finance, development and business. He currently is an EVP at Centennial where he heads the firm’s development department, a role that allows him to leverage his background to transform suburban shopping centers into spaces desired by modern consumers. Under Platt’s leadership, Centennial is executing several mall-to-mixed-use conversions with thousands of multifamily units in progress or already leasing nationally. He led the vision for Valencia Town Center, a one-million-square-foot retail center in Santa Clarita, CA, and secured unanimous approval from the City of Plano planning and zoning commission for the rezoning application of The Shops at Willow Bend located in Dallas. In addition to leading the development department, Platt also oversees all phases of the development process for Centennial’s owned and managed properties, including entitlements, public-private partnerships, feasibility studies, budgeting and pro forma analysis, design, construction and tenant relationships. He serves as lead developer on three of Centennial’s owned assets and is instrumental in pitching new business to prospective clients. Since joining the firm in 2021, he has been an evangelist for Centennial’s corporate culture and is described as a popular and caring leader who takes pride in mentoring his team. Platt’s fascination with the built environment, the five senses, and leaving behind a tangible legacy for the next generation has been a driving force throughout his career. He strives to create places that not only stand as a testament to his dedication but that also evoke memories for all who engage with them.

Michael Platt

Colliers SVP Emalia Pietsch has influenced the way retail is marketed across Hawaii. Positioning herself as a regional retail expert, Pietsch showcases projects, retailers, restaurants and experiences via her multiple outreach networks. She operates a monthly international newsletter under her own label - Resort Retail Hawaii – that showcases restaurants, retailers and new openings to more than 1,000 readers. In addition, she shares information on new and existing retailers and restaurants in Hawaii through her social media channels and her website. Pietsch is described as warm, upbeat and authentic, qualities that serve her well in the resort retail markets throughout the islands. She serves landlord clients across Waikiki and also leads urban retail in Kakaako, Oahu. She is the company’s go-to expert handling specialized affluent neighborhoods throughout Hawaii. Her success earned her the role of co-leader of Colliers’ retail division in Hawaii, where she oversees a team of five professionals and manages client relationships, provides advisory and brokerage services, and is involved with business development as well as brand promotion. Roger J. Wall, vice chairman of Sullivan Family of Companies, says the organization has benefitted greatly from working with Pietsch in securing new locations across Hawaii for its retail brands ranging from Foodland Farms to The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf and Drybar. “She brings great market knowledge, creativity, responsiveness, resourcefulness, flexibility and professionalism to every situation,” says Wall. As a working mother of three children ranging in age from 19 months to seven years, Pietsch juggles many responsibilities at home and work while also supporting organizations that serve her community. Her extensive professional experience helps nonprofits function smoothly. She is a foundation board member for Kapiolani Medical Center for Women & Children, and she also sits on the boards of Adventist Health Castle and the Waikiki Improvement Association.

Emalia Pietsch

Brookfield Properties chief development officer Adam Tritt’s vision of the mall of the future includes building thriving community destinations where people want to spend time. He understands that a one-size-fits-all approach will not work and tailors each project to the surrounding community. He is willing to try new concepts. For example, at Stonestown Galleria in San Francisco, his team removed all department stores, which was historically unheard of in the shopping center industry, and repurposed the space previously occupied by two department stores with a Whole Foods, movie theater, retail, a healthcare facility and Target. Notably, Tritt and his team have been working to transform the 1960s-era Oakbrook Center mall in the Chicago suburbs. The project has included introducing significant green space, a highly curated collection of high-profile retailers, and new categories like entertainment and fitness. At Alderwood Mall near Seattle, Tritt guided Brookfield Properties’ investment of more than $190 million to transform a dated department store parcel and construct a mixed-use development. Alderwood Mall 2.0 includes 320 apartment units, new dining, retail and outdoor community space. In all, he spearheads development projects and oversees construction, design, development, tenant coordination and CAD teams for Brookfield Properties’ portfolio of more than 120 malls. Tritt is a mentor to younger professionals, not just within the development department, but throughout the organization. As a former athlete, Tritt coaches youth soccer and football, and he and his family are involved in their church. For several years, he has been an active supporter of Feed My Starving Children and Haiti Outreach.

Adam N. Tritt

During her two-decade career, Colliers EVP Nikki Traff has leased more than 10 lifestyle shopping centers throughout Florida, demonstrating her deep understanding of local market dynamics. She is adept at elevating net operating income for clients through effective merchandising techniques and a holistic approach to asset valuation. Her work revitalizing merchandising strategies at Bell Tower led to a $2.5 million increase in NOI. Traff is a collaborative teammate, working with colleagues in other markets to drive results. In her role, Traff oversees the development of strategic merchandising plans for client projects. Actively engaging with national retail brokers, she forges connections with prominent national retailers and restaurants. She invests in relationships with everyone from national brokers to local construction teams. A significant aspect of her role involves traveling extensively and cultivating relationships to bring deals to fruition for her clients. She proactively seeks partnerships with owners of lifestyle centers, continuously innovating to enhance the value of both new and redeveloped assets. A noteworthy example is a current project in West Palm Beach. Collaborating with landlords at Clematis Street, she works to attract the best restaurants and stores to the center, creating value and fostering their sustained growth. Traff is dedicated to extending her impact within her community both professionally and beyond commercial real estate. She serves as a vocal advocate for women in the retail sector and has teamed up with her fellow women at Colliers to organize “Deals in Heels,” a series of events in South Florida that bring women professionals together and create a supportive community. In addition to her advocacy efforts, Traff channels her commitment to philanthropy by raising funds for cancer charities, with a specific emphasis on colon and throat cancers, causes that hold a personal significance for her.

Nikki Traff

With extensive experience and an exceptional ability to lead complicated and prominent deals, Tara Scanlon is an influencer in both the Washington D.C., legal community and the retail real estate industry. She is a partner at Holland & Knight LLP and the practice group leader for the firm’s real estate transactional attorneys in Washington, Northern Virginia and Philadelphia. Scanlon has managed and expanded her practice throughout the years, building extensive experience in retail real estate transactions representing both institutional and entrepreneurial owners of regional malls, shopping centers and high-end street retail projects. Notable deals include her representation of a national real estate development company in the development, finance and asset management of a mixed-use development worth more than $1 billion. In addition, Scanlon led the development and lease-up of CityRidge, transforming the historic Fannie Mae headquarters into a vibrant mixed-use project with more than one million square feet of residential and commercial space featuring marquee tenants including Washington D.C.’s first Wegmans and high-end restaurants and retailers. Scanlon is a thought leader and an advocate for women in the industry. She is the former president of the Mid-Atlantic chapter of Women in Retail Real Estate and her work with CREW demonstrates her dedication to breaking barriers and fostering a community that supports and celebrates women’s achievements in the CRE sector. Through mentorship and training programs, she equips aspiring women lawyers with the tools and confidence to excel in their careers. Scanlon’s reputation in real estate law has garnered her prestigious accolades for more than a decade, including recognition in The Best Lawyers in America guide and The Legal 500 USA.

Tara A. Scanlon

Under the leadership of Evan Rosenblatt, PEBB Enterprises has significantly expanded its development footprint since he joined the company in 2016. In addition to a substantial increase in the size of the team, PEBB also has increased the size, scope and stakes of its retail developments. Rosenblatt has earned several promotions, from VP of Construction to SVP of Construction and ultimately SVP of Construction and Development, his current role in which he oversees all aspects of PEBB’s construction and development process as well as coordination of tenant deliveries for significant projects. He has led developments and redevelopments across Florida and throughout the nation. A notable project for Rosenblatt is Beachwalk, a transformative mixed-use development near Jacksonville. The first component, the Shoppes at Beachwalk, was completed in 2021, fully leased by PEBB and sold to anchor Publix in 2022. Another project he led is Mainstreet at Boynton, a nearly 70,000-square-foot retail plaza that was completed in 2021 and won an award for best speculative project by the South Florida Business Journal. During his nearly 25 years in the industry, Rosenblatt has impacted Florida’s retail landscape through his roles overseeing large-scale construction projects at prominent companies. Prior to joining PEBB, he was a senior project manager for Suffolk Construction where he worked on Las Olas River House, which at the time of completion was the tallest building in Fort Lauderdale. He also managed the construction of Fortune International’s Jade Signature, a 62-story ultra-luxury condominium project on the ocean with an underground parking garage, which was an impressive feat of engineering and construction. In nearly a decade with Stiles Corp., Rosenblatt completed many grocery-anchored retail developments and redevelopments and was part of the construction team that handled the expansion and renovation of Hard Rock Stadium, home of the Miami Dolphins.

Evan Rosenblatt

Sandy Sigal founded privately held shopping center developer and owner NewMark Merrill Cos. in 1997 and has overseen the company’s growth to more than 12 million square feet of retail real estate in California, Colorado and Illinois. The company owns or manages 95 shopping centers, representing a collective value of more than $2.5 billion. A 27-year veteran of the industry, Sigal is passionate about supporting small businesses and meets frequently with local and state politicians about the struggles in the industry. He has focused on helping his tenants and the community with programs like “Together We Can” aimed at helping tenants remain in business during the pandemic and “Wave of Kindness” where shopping centers partner with local tenants to give back to first responders, emergency room staff, educators, the under-housed and seniors. Sigal has been interested in computers since he was young and has embraced technology for his firm and properties. He is chairman of BrightStreet Ventures, a company he co-founded to provide opportunities for his tenants and other center owners by integrating online platforms with traditional brick-and-mortar business. He also is an investor in more than 100 PropTech companies, many of which are integrated into his business. In 2022, the California Business Properties Association awarded Sigal the Ernest W. Hahn Award for his impact on legislative, regulatory and public policy issues on behalf of the industry. He also received the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award for Los Angeles for community and business involvement. Sigal is board president of Jewish Big Brothers Big Sisters of Los Angeles, a nonprofit organization providing mentorship and support to children through one-to-one relationships with adult volunteers.

Sandy Sigal

A pioneer in the retail real estate technology field, Mark Sigal leads Datex Property Solutions as CEO. Along with partner Scott Mahler, Sigal created a real estate portfolio management platform that integrates with portfolio owners’ property management and accounting data to improve operations. The platform manages thousands of shopping centers and tens of thousands of retailers nationwide, generating more than $3 billion in rental income. It also allows retail landlords to analyze sales and merchant health data to make better leasing decisions, cut reporting costs and eliminate errors through process-driven reporting automation. The company produces the Datex Tenant Track Report, which has tracked merchant health, rent collection trends, and retail sales numbers, broken out by month, merchant category and national chain vs. small business dating to 2019. Sigal is responsible for overseeing the growth of the company, managing client relationships, product delivery, business models, and expanding the capabilities of the platform. Under his leadership during the past three years, sales have grown more than 100% and recurring revenues have increased 200%, while new client additions have grown 75%. He also has led the development of new features including a leasing automation system, a CRM system built for retail portfolios and ad hoc reporting tools that enable new KPIs to be quickly instrumented. Sigal has been a member of ICSC for more than 30 years and works closely with ICSC’s research team on the retail metrics that Datex provides under license to ICSC. He is also a respected writer and communicator, having written articles for several publications. Sigal has also written more than 600 articles for his blog, The Network Garden, and has been a featured presenter at numerous industry events, including Stanford Graduate School of Business, Maker Faire and Foo Camp.

Mark Sigal

Since his arrival at CBRE more than decade ago, Jimmy Slusher has logged a remarkable ascent through the company’s ranks due to his dedication and skills in navigating retail CRE complexities. As an SVP, Slusher leads CBRE’s 20-person national retail partners’ West team focused exclusively on retail investment properties in the Western US. Slusher heads the institutional retail investment portfolio, and as the lead broker, he has assisted professional investors with acquiring and disposing of various institutional-quality shopping centers. Under his guidance, the team has closed more than 1,000 retail transactions valued at more than $14.8 billion totaling more than 75 million square feet. His approach to marketing assets includes a blend of traditional and broad approaches, which has allowed him to introduce non-retail investors to retail assets and expand the team’s investor base. Despite the overwhelming challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, Slusher demonstrated adaptability to successfully navigate the turbulent economic landscape and help his clients achieve success. During the following three years, he and his team significantly increased their deal volume to more than $2.6 billion and 10.5 million square feet. Among his high-profile deals was the $124.5 million sale of Nut Tree Shopping Center, a historic property in Vacaville, CA, to a private family who intends to own the property in perpetuity. He also worked on the $54.25 million sale of the Tiffany & Co. building in shops on Colorado Blvd. in Pasadena, CA, to a private group of investors. He is an active member of ICSC and NAIOP, where he mentors new brokers through the Southern California chapter’s young professionals program.

Jimmy Slusher

Colliers VP Pat Slagle joined the firm at the start of 2023 to help develop the company’s retail team for the Mid-Atlantic region and has assembled a team of experts who work within Colliers’ Washington D.C., office and across the company’s nationwide practice groups on tenant expansion planning, capital markets and equity placement for strategic growth from family offices and investors. Since joining Colliers, Slagle has deepened his specialization in restaurant and hospitality leasing and acquisitions, emphasizing the planning and development of new and existing concepts through financial modeling, operational planning, portfolio management and systems implementation. Slagle is acting as an outside development advisor for several food and beverage, fitness, and retail concepts across the country and around the globe. In his first year at Colliers, Slagle crafted a complex location strategy and financial plan, formulating a $300 million investment for an international brewing company to develop and increase its US footprint via a durable development license agreement with a management company. The plan allows his domestic licensee developer client to work with its international partner to open locations across the country. He is described by colleagues as smart and personable as well as someone who understands the big picture. “Whenever someone seeks his support, Pat’s immediate and enthusiastic response is consistently, ‘Yes, absolutely. What can I do for you?’” says Matt Gannon, executive managing director and market leader for the D.C. region at Colliers. “His unfailing readiness to contribute reflects not just his positivity but also a genuine commitment to being a team player.” Slagle is a member of ICSC and supports the D.C. Small Business Development Center, working with local small businesses by providing workshops that cover business planning and location development.

Pat Slagle

In the world of mixed-use development and retail property management, Natalia Stezenko is the kind of person who likes to get things done herself. She is hands-on with everything from commercial leasing to project design to business operations in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. As a senior general manager at Centennial Real Estate Management, Stezenko reviews processes, plans updates and oversees day-to-day operations while also working closely with top-level executives to set and meet company goals. Under Stezenko’s guidance, vacancy rates dropped from 18% to 7% and she slashed property expenses by $300,000 every year. One of her big achievements was launching Greystone Property Management under Greystone Capital. Instead of relying on an outside vendor, she brought property management and accounting functions in-house, saving the company 11% annually. She enjoys flexing her creative muscles to create engaging environments that attract people, and she is highly knowledgeable about her market, from trends to traffic patterns to demographics. Colleagues say she sets the bar high and makes sure everyone reaches it, including implementing standards of excellence for her team. Under Stezenko’s leadership, The Promenade Shops at Saucon Valley underwent a transformative rebranding campaign. She spearheaded every aspect, from concept to execution, conducted in-depth market research to understand the desires and preferences of the local community, and ensured that the rebranding efforts would resonate deeply with target audiences. The launch of the rebranding campaign was a resounding success, drawing widespread acclaim from both customers and industry peers alike. Stezenko is a member of CREW Lehigh Valley, where she has contributed to the mission of empowering women in the commercial real estate industry for eight years.

Natalia Stezenko

When he isn’t busy chauffeuring his two sons to activities and coaching Little League, Shawn Smith is a retail real estate influencer in the Northern Nevada market. As an EVP and managing director at Kidder Mathews, Smith is responsible for the development, success and professional viability of the Kidder Mathews Reno office, which covers Northern California, Northern Nevada and Lake Tahoe. He oversees the retail department and a book of business that includes tenant and landlord representation, ground-up shopping center development and investment sales. He also mentors junior brokers and participates in local and regional ICSC events to promote and advance the retail brokerage industry. Smith has been involved in the design, planning and leasing of many of the most recent major retail ground-up developments in the area during the past decade. He ensures his properties are well marketed by building relationships with retailers, investors, architects, contractors and developers sometimes years in advance of projects coming to fruition. Among his notable transactions was bringing Trader Joe’s to the Summit in 2023, which will help alleviate pressure and traffic from an existing Trader Joe’s store at Smithridge Plaza. Another transaction was bringing Hank’s Farmers Market to the Sparks community, filling a grocery store void in the area. Replacing a former Kmart box with a Hispanic grocery store will benefit the community from a goods and services standpoint and help to gentrify an already improving community. He is involved in numerous boards and communities, including the City of Reno Neighborhood Advisory Board, Sierra Arts Foundation, American Cancer Society, Leadership Reno Sparks and Twenty Under 40 Young Professional Network.

Shawn Smith

Newmark senior managing director Jackie Totolo’s methodology emphasizes partnerships that align the interests of tenants and landlords alike. On the tenant side, Totolo takes a personalized approach, immersing herself in the tenant’s world to understand their expansion strategies and become invested in their success and longevity. On the landlord side, Totolo fosters a future-focused vision and has the ability to secure deals that benefit the street and neighborhood while giving landlords a broader perspective on their role in enhancing community value. In the wake of COVID-19, Totolo recognized the heightened importance of the tenant-landlord relationship. She underscored the significance of mutual respect and adaptability during uncertain times by facilitating direct introductions before delving into negotiations. Those who maintained amicable and supportive connections through the pandemic were more likely to succeed. In her role as senior managing director of Newmark’s retail group, Totolo sources tenants, consults on new developments and advises on repositioning retail assets. She also offers comprehensive consulting services and leads transaction execution. In the past three years, Totolo has leased nearly 500,000 square feet of space. Her role in the Lifetime Fitness transaction at One Wall Street earned her the prestigious Real Estate Board of New York deal of the year. In addition, Totolo has played a critical role in notable clients’ growth and strategic development. Her efforts have seen Levain Bakery expand across the US, supported Therabody’s launch of retail stores nationwide, including a flagship in Manhattan West, and secured prime locations for Barnes & Noble, Elyse Walker and HOKA. She is an active member of REBNY and ICSC. Beyond professional projects, Totolo champions women’s rights, breast cancer awareness and business initiatives empowering women.

Jackie Totolo

Early in his 22-year career, Dan Sutherland was already a mover and shaker in the CRE world. He started his career as a senior auditor with Deloitte in San Francisco, where he served clients in the financial risk arena. It was there that he became intrigued by commercial real estate and transitioned to a valuations associate position at AMB Property Corp. (now Prologis), a San Francisco-based REIT focused on logistics facilities. Sutherland then served as SVP of acquisitions and dispositions at Brixmor Property Group, a publicly traded REIT operating grocery-anchored shopping centers, where he was responsible for overseeing transactions across the Midwest and Western US and closing more than $500 million in acquisitions and $700 million in dispositions. He also served as VP of capital transactions at DDR Corp., which operated open-air retail properties, closing more than $1.3 billion in transactions across the West and Midwest regions. Sutherland joined Brixton Capital in 2023, bringing extensive knowledge and experience in the management, acquisition and disposition of retail centers to his role as director of investments. He leads the strategic acquisition of retail centers in the West and is responsible for executing the growth strategy for Brixton’s retail operations in Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon, Utah and Washington. Leading a team of three in these efforts, Sutherland focuses on cultivating relationships within Brixton’s target markets and a substantial portion of his time is dedicated to investor engagement. He regularly meets with investors and provides his expert insights into the current retail landscape while educating them about retail’s current undervalued status and the advantages of such investments. He was instrumental in Brixton’s two grocery-anchored retail acquisitions in late 2023.

Dan Sutherland

X Team Retail Advisors X Team Retail Advisors’ strength is that the sum of the organization is more valuable than its individual parts. Led by president Dave Cheatham, X Team is a partnership of more than 350 small, mid-size and…

WMG Development When it was founded in 1995, WMG Development focused on the tenant side of the retail business, which is reflected in its culture of service and responsiveness, engagement and flexibility that…

VTS The VTS platform brings organization to a process traditionally fueled by disorganized spreadsheets and back-of-napkin deals. VTS co-founders Nick Romito, CEO, and Ryan Masiello, chief strategy officer…

The Providence Group Founded in 2000, the Providence Group is led by partners Darren Wood, Eric Nichols and J.Q. Freeman. The boutique retail brokerage firm, based in Charlotte, NC, executed 177 retail brokerage…

Regency Properties Regency Properties views county-seat communities as the heartbeat of the country and strives to serve as a central support mechanism for business, local government, recreation and shopping in these…

X Team Retail Advisors’ strength is that the sum of the organization is more valuable than its individual parts. Led by president Dave Cheatham, X Team is a partnership of more than 350 small, mid-size and boutique retail advisors in 44 US and Canadian markets. Each X Team partner office is composed of qualified retail real estate specialists who have extensive experience representing tenants and major retail developers across the nation. The structure provides the personal touch of a regional boutique brokerage firm with the experience, industry savvy and established relationships of a national firm. The network brings resources and consistent service delivery across all markets, and its collaborative model allows clients to work among different members of the platform when they expand geographically. X Team has built its reputation around customer service in the retail space and bringing a deep understanding of how site- and region-specific details influence on-the-ground realities for retail tenants and landlords. X Team affiliates have completed hundreds of retail assignments for many of the world’s largest premier retail brands including TJ Maxx, McDonald’s, Hobby Lobby, Old Navy, Lowe’s and Lifetime Fitness. Many of the X Team affiliates are active in community and charitable organizations and are asked to provide insights about the retail market to corporate executives and organizations. For example, Cheatham is recognized for his commitment to mentoring and growing younger leaders in the industry, while executive director Jason Baker, a Houston native, is actively involved in the Houston community and serves on numerous business and nonprofit boards. He currently sits on the Seed Co. board and the Cadence Bank advisory board, and is a past board member of the Gulf Coast Chapter of CCIM and Boys & Girls Country.

X Team Retail Advisors

When it was founded in 1995, WMG Development focused on the tenant side of the retail business, which is reflected in its culture of service and responsiveness, engagement and flexibility that continues today. The firm, led by CEO Curtis Frost, develops, owns and manages more than 450 properties primarily focused in the Southeast, including grocery-anchored shopping centers and retail outparcels. WMG professionals tailor solutions to specific partners and opportunities, leveraging team members’ technical skills and experience to deliver finished products that the company, partners and the community can be proud of. By having developers, planning and entitlements professionals, civil engineers, and construction, project management, leasing, and marketing experts all in-house, the firm aims to provide a seamless experience for retail development. Throughout the past three years, WMG Development has completed more than half a billion dollars in real estate investments. While continuing to develop on a large scale, WMG also completed a billion-dollar transaction, which translated to one of the largest portfolio sales in Q4 2022 including 224 properties across 29 states. WMG currently has more than 75 assets in pre-development and more than 100 in active development. During the past four years, WMG has continued to expand its list of tenant relationships, which has expanded to more than 100 different individual tenants. WMG is active and engaged in many of the industry’s professional organizations, sponsoring members of CREW, fostering mentorship programs for aspiring young developers, and contributing to national and local ICSC events. Every member of its team shares a passion for creating a lasting, positive impact in the community. Most notably, the team came together for Hurricane Ian relief in 2022, donating more than $20,000 in supplies that were personally shopped for, loaded, and hand-delivered in person by the company’s CEO and EVP to those most in need.

WMG Development

The VTS platform brings organization to a process traditionally fueled by disorganized spreadsheets and back-of-napkin deals. VTS co-founders Nick Romito, CEO, and Ryan Masiello, chief strategy officer, recognized the need for a better process as it became increasingly difficult to depict concrete evidence when making recommendations to landlords, owners and tenants. The company’s CRE leasing, marketing, asset management and tenant experience platform captures the largest first-party data source in the industry, which delivers real-time insights that fuel faster, more informed decision-making and connections throughout the deal and asset lifecycle. VTS has grown during the past decade, bringing multiple product offerings and additional platforms to the table. In 2020, VTS launched VTS Retail Solutions, a leasing platform designed specifically for the retail sector, holistically addressing critical issues faced by retail landlords throughout their leasing process. As the retail industry has fluctuated due to macroeconomic events, evolving consumer behaviors and a global health crisis, VTS Retail Solutions has revolutionized the retail leasing process with a digital interface that has contributed to the sector’s growth and resilience and allows retail landlords to manage their operations with a greater level of strategy and confidence using real-time insights from shopping hubs. Additional products include VTS Market, the industry’s first integrated, online marketing platform for landlords and agency teams, and VTS Data, a forward-looking data product capturing active demand and projecting supply fluctuations. Most recently, VTS launched VTS Activate, pairing the acquisitions of Rise Buildings and Lane Technologies to create a tenant experience solution that opens office landlords’ entire portfolios through ‘one app, access anywhere’ functionality and solves for low demand, evolving tenant expectations and the persistence of hybrid work policies. VTS is used by eight out of 10 of the world’s largest property owners, including Blackstone, Brookfield, LaSalle Investment Management, Hines, Boston Properties, Oxford Properties Group, JLL and CBRE.

VTS

Founded in 2000, the Providence Group is led by partners Darren Wood, Eric Nichols and J.Q. Freeman. The boutique retail brokerage firm, based in Charlotte, NC, executed 177 retail brokerage transactions across its core Carolinas markets totaling $260 million in value last year. The Providence Group recently added a new office in Raleigh, NC and welcomed Reagan Crabtree and Cristi Webb, two seasoned Raleigh-based brokers, to the team, bringing the firm’s total number of professionals in North Carolina to 41. That growth allows the Providence Group to continue servicing existing clients across the Carolinas and expand services in the greater Triangle market with additional retail brokerage capacity and a new Raleigh-based property management group. The team brings deep relationships with area developers and delivers decades of expertise guiding retailers’ expansion strategies including national brands, regional chains and local merchants. The firm specializes in site selection, sales and leasing, disposition services, property management and development services throughout the Carolinas. It has completed thousands of transactions around the Southeast representing some of the most well-recognized retail brands. The Providence Group recently volunteered at Operation Christmas Child in Charlotte, helping pack hundreds of shoeboxes full of clothes, toys and gifts. The Providence Group team also has supported the City of Charlotte Housing and Neighborhood Division’s clean-up Charlotte day picking up trash.

The Providence Group

Regency Properties views county-seat communities as the heartbeat of the country and strives to serve as a central support mechanism for business, local government, recreation and shopping in these communities. Based in Evansville, IN, the retail investment and management firm was founded 75 years ago and is today led by president and CEO Kevin Hammett. The firm owns 61 retail properties in 19 states, totaling 6.15 million square feet of leasable space that is currently 92% leased. The retail properties owned by Regency typically bring modern retail and conveniences to underserved areas. On an aggregated basis, the firm completed 535 leases totaling more than 2.5 million square feet of space during the past three years and brought new tenants including Ollie’s, Aldi, Dollar Tree, Big Lots, Roses and more to the different retail properties it owns and manages. In 2021, the firm led the turnaround of the Germantown Shopping Center in Jasper, IN, increasing its occupancy from 61.65% to 95%, an effort that included upgrading the variety and creditworthiness of tenants. During the holding period that ended in 2021, Regency achieved increases in revenue and FFO, reaching profitability of nearly $4.1 million. In addition to a focus on improving real estate in various communities, Regency strives to be an active and supportive member of its local communities by partnering with local chambers of commerce, donating space in centers to not-for-profit organizations, hosting community food and coat drives and contributing backpacks and school supplies to underprivileged students, supporting local charities and other community programs that provide outreach throughout the community, and matching 50% of charitable donations made by Regency employees.

Regency Properties